The Miracle of the Sun has been characterized as the greatest supernatural occurrence of the 20th century and does not belong to the domain of faith or science it is an historical event!
The miracle of the sun as viewed by so many in other alleged apparitions did not happen in the same extraordinary manner as at Fatima witnessed by everyone present and in a 70 mile radius by believers and unbelievers alike. This was a supernatural event something only God can do. Other similar manifestations of the Miracle of the Sun at other alleged Marian apparitions may be extraordinary to those who witness them but not supernatural in character. These fall in the realm of preternatural or angelic causes. Then we must discern is this from the good angel or a bad angel. The devil has also appeared to mystics as Jesus and Mary. Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich and Bl. Anna Maria Taggi both stated that if they had not seen Jesus and Mary previously when the devil appeared as such they would have been deceived. According to present church law the bishop of the diocese has the charisma from God to confirm the authenticity and origin of alleged apparitions occurring within their own diocese. God has the power to convince and bring an unbelieving bishop to his knees as he did for Juan Diego when he opened his tilma and presenting a double miracle, Roses out of season cascading to the floor and a miraculous image of Our Lady imprinted on Juan Diego’s Tilma.
Witnesses of the Miracle of the sun, a supernatural historical event, testified to the terrifying nature of the solar miracle.
Maria Carreira stated that: “The sun turned everything in view different colors, yellow, blue, white, and it shook and trembled; it seemed like a wheel of fire which was going to fall on the people. They cried out: 'We shall all be killed, we shall all be killed!’... At last the sun stopped moving and we all breathed a sigh of relief. We were still alive and the miracle which the children had foretold had taken place. Other people witnessed the solar miracle from a distance thus ruling out the possibility of any type of collective hallucination. A final intriguing, and important, point was that the heat of the sun, as it descended on the people, also had the effect of drying their clothes and the ground, so that they went from being completely soaked to being dry in about ten minutes. The people who witnessed this stupendous event were frightened believing that they were all going to die.
Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, S. J. |
Why, then, was the solar prodigy of Fatima necessary? It was necessary in order to satisfy our spontaneous need for giving rational credence to what Mary was telling Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. The children did not need the solar phenomenon to believe what Our Lady was telling them. But we do. It is not coincidental that Mary asked her Divine Son to work the miracle at Cana as the first of the signs performed by her Son. Immediately, we are told, his disciples believed in Him. She has been doing the same ever since. As God, He is master of the sun, moon and stars which He created. Her message at Fatima was to tell a sinful world to stop offending the Divine Majesty and to repent of their sins. As at Cana, she asked Jesus to work a miracle. At Cana, as the poet said, the water looked at its Maker and blushed. At Fatima the sun looked at its Maker and whirled in dazzling splendor to acknowledge its Creator." Excerpt From Soul Magazine Vol. 43 - #5, September-October 1992, pp. 10-11 Copyright © 1999 by Inter Mirifica
The Third part of the Secret of Fatima took place during the miracle of the sun and was revealed by Bl. John Paul II during the beatification of Jacinta and Francesco Marto.
We learned that during the Miracle of the Sun while everyone was taken up with the solar events the children also witnessed the Angel of God's descending towards the earth crying out three times in a loud voice that thundered "PENANCE! PENANCE! PENANCE!” Lucia describes what they saw as those around them were taken up with the solar event that authenticated the Fatima Apparitions: Lucia writes:
"We saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: Pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice:
‘Penance! Penance! Penance!'
Sister Lucia already gave us an indication for interpreting the third part of the “secret” in a letter to the Holy Father on May 12, 1982. Here Sr. Lucia writes:
Fatima in Lucia's Own Words |
For God's faithful in this age of apostasy and perversion, it is more necessary now than ever that we carefully heed the admonitions of the Angel and Our Lady with a sincere amendment of life, and increased prayer.
Our Lady asked especially for the five first Saturdays, the daily Rosary with meditation upon the Mysteries, sacrifice of our daily duty, and consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.If we hope to persevere in this age of apostasy, we must take to heart and apply in our daily lives the admonition of the Gospels! UNLESS YE DO PENANCE, YOU SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH! These times do not permit anymore "easy living" for those of us who desire salvation. If we do not reject the spirit of the world, we have chosen it for our master -- if we continue to live by the material standards of our modern society we shall lose our souls "no man can serve two masters"! Such a difficult truth is not easy to accept for us, who live in a society rotting with the cancer of materialism and glorification of the flesh!
Who is our master? Christ or the world?
The action of God, the Lord of history, and the co-responsibility of man in the drama of his creative freedom, are the two pillars upon which human history is built.
Fatima reminds us that man's future is in God, and that we are active and responsible partners in creating that future. What will that future be? It is up to us what we choose to do today
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